Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The End of Men

Although “The End of Men” was written well, and had a good argument, I did not agree at all with the ideas that it upheld. First of all, the overarching theme was that while there was discrimination against women in the past, it practically does not exist anymore. This is not true at all, and it seemed to dismiss feminist arguments by saying that we have already achieved equality. The article seemed to think that women’s history is a march towards equality, when it is far more complicated than that. Rosin argued that “in the long view, the modern economy is becoming a place where women hold the cards.” This point of view is very all or nothing, that either women hold all of the cards, or men do and equality is not an option. Rosin continues to say that it is a “role reversal” which insinuates that women will take the exact spot that men used to rather than a change into equality. Furthermore, the argument that Rosin makes is very defensive because women are seen as taking men’s jobs rather than filling positions that they earn. Men should be forced to work harder because of the added competition instead of complaining about women ‘taking’ their jobs. Rosin also seemed to be very sympathetic towards men who have been affected by women’s expanding roles in the economy. This showed up especially when Rosin was discussing men’s unemployment. Rosin states that “Some groups help men cope with unemployment.” Women have had to ‘cope’ with unemployment for far longer than men without a group’s help, and these groups further the idea that men should not have to compete with women for jobs. Rosin also talks about a man who had signed up for food stamps which she says “is just about the only social-welfare program a man can easily access.” Although this may be true, throughout history there has been far less demand for men to receive welfare, and more for women. Currently 61% of federal assistance goes to women, and 44% of women-headed households with children receive federal assistance. These numbers are far lower for men for a few reasons including the wage gap and discrimination in the workforce. Rosin continues the story to say that this man’s ex wife drove past him and “just drove on by.” This insinuates that it was the woman’s job to help the man because of the so called ‘role reversal.’ It was not her job to save him, nor would it be his job to save her if the situation happened the opposite way. Overall, “The End of Men” used defensive arguments to prove a point that is not true, and makes women sound like the enemy.